Now Commenting On:

Royals happy with 'balanced' Draft

Royals happy with 'balanced' Draft

KANSAS CITY -- After two long and hard days of sitting in the war room and sifting through prospects, the Royals pronounced themselves well-satisfied as the First-Year Player Draft ended Wednesday.

"I think it was very balanced," said Deric Ladnier, the Royals' senior director of scouting. "There was a lot of emphasis put on skills and matching up the tools with the ability to perform."

After making a splash with their No. 2 pick, hard-hitting third baseman Alex Gordon, the Royals took a high school shortstop and a college pitcher in the next two rounds.

Using the 50th selection in the second round, the Royals took shortstop Jeffrey Bianchi from Lampeter-Strasburg High School in Pennsylvania.

Bianchi, 18, has an offer to attend North Carolina State. He took a .535 average into the state high school tournament in which the Pioneers play Thursday in the quarterfinal round.

"He's a five-tool shortstop," Ladnier said. "He's a way-above-average runner with way-above-average arm and hands. He has a very skilled approach to hitting and shows power."

Bianchi's high school coach, Todd Garber, is the brother of the Royals' Minor League coordinator of instruction, Jeff Garber.

"Bianchi was probably a surprise pick, but we didn't want to pass on him and risk losing him," Ladnier said.

A right-handed batter, Bianchi hit .514 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 2004 and .455 as a sophomore in 2003.

The Royals used the 82nd selection in the third round to select right-handed pitcher Chris Nicoll of the University of California-Irvine.

Nicoll, 21, was 6-4 with a 2.50 ERA for the Anteaters. He had 113 strikeouts and just 24 walks in 111 2/3 innings this season.

"We feel he's a quick mover," general manager Allard Baird said. "He's a good strike-thrower who knows how to use his fastball. He's not afraid to throw his offspeed pitches when he's behind in the count."

Ladnier said the Royals were entering intense negotiations with their top 16 picks and had signed their seventh-round choice, left-handed pitcher Brent Fisher.

They dipped into the Royals' family for one selection, taking infielder Jeremy Jirschele, son of Triple-A Omaha manager Mike Jirschele.

Following are the Royals' 50 picks with comments from Ladnier. Many of the lower picks are in the "draft and follow" category, which means the club will follow their progress this summer to determine if they should be signed.